City of Lies

City of Lies is a 2018 crime thriller film about the investigations by the Los Angeles Police Department of the murders of rappers Tupac Shakur and the Notorious B.I.G. It is directed by Brad Furman, with a screenplay by Christian Contreras based on the non-fiction book LAbyrinth by Randall Sullivan. The film stars Johnny Depp as retired LAPD detective Russell Poole and Forest Whitaker as journalist Jack Jackson, with Rockmond Dunbar and Neil Brown Jr. also starring. The film premiered in Italy on December 8, 2018, screened out of competition on the last day of the Noir in Festival. It received a limited release in Italy on January 10, 2019. It was originally set to be released in the United States on September 7, 2018, by Global Road Entertainment, it was pulled from the schedule in August 2018 following the closure of Global Road Entertainment. It was eventually acquired by Saban Films and released on March 19, 2021, followed by a PVOD release on April 9, 2021. The film received mixed reviews from critics. Plot In 2015, Los Angeles Times investigative reporter Darius "Jack" Jackson is assigned to write about the murder of the Notorious B.I.G.. He meets with the retired and disgraced Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) detective Russell Poole. In a series of flashbacks, Poole reveals his theory that Death Row Records CEO Suge Knight paid corrupt LAPD officers to murder Wallace and cover it up. In 1997, just weeks after the Wallace murder, Poole is tasked with investigating the shooting of off-duty black police officer Kevin Gaines by a white detective, Frank Lyga. Poole faces pressure from upper management in relation to the media frenzy involving other recent race-related incidents in Los Angeles, namely the beating of Rodney King and the murder trial of O. J. Simpson. During the course of the investigation, Poole learns that Gaines was on Knight's payroll and had Bloods gang affiliation. Poole's superior officer, Lieutenant O'Shea, refuses to give credence to this theory and orders Poole to close the Gaines-Lyga shooting. Lyga is exonerated but faces a civil suit, with the Gaines family being represented by attorney Johnnie Cochran. Poole confirms from an undercover FBI agent the connection between Knight and Gaines, and he is transferred to the Robbery-Homicide Division to investigate the Wallace murder.